Happy 4th Birthday, Leander!

Well, somehow we’ve arrived on the eve of our sweet boy’s FOURTH birthday! I can’t even believe it.
I look at these photos I took of him this week and I no longer see a baby or a toddler – but a little boy. And these photos are just proof of the things we’ve been noticing and seeing and experiencing with our sweet boy for a while now – he’s growing and maturing and getting so big! (How does this even happen?)

Last weekend, we celebrated our Leander Roxas with a big SHARK birthday party. It was an epic occasion that he absolutely loved (and we all loved showering him with love and presents!) More on that – photos and videos – coming next week!

Here’s a little update on our sweet boy!
(*note: we still don’t have baseboards on our second floor after it’s renovation SEVEN years ago – I’ve kind of given up hoping that “someday” they’ll happen – so we’re just rolling with it – don’t judge the bottom of my walls!)

• Leander is turning FOUR years old, but if you ask him, he tells everyone he’s turning 10. Slow down kiddo – 10 will be here before we know it!
• The BIGGEST news of the entire year is that Leander is finally fully potty trained!! That was officially the hardest, most challenging thing I have ever done. We started full-blown potty training one year ago this week – full of hopes and dreams that within a week (a month at tops) we’d be seeing success. Needless to say, it took quite a bit longer than a week or a month – a full NINE MONTHS later, he FINALLY got it!! For a while there, I honestly believed that he would never get it and would be in diapers until he was in college. He truly just did not care though! And no amount of bribes, rewards, sticker charts, or well-wishes could change his mind. Until, one brilliant day at the beginning of fall, he decided it was time. And pretty much from then on – we’ve had smooth sailing (with just a handful of accidents). It was literally like a switch was thrown – one day he was 100% uncontrolled peeing all over and the next day he stayed completely dry the entire day. I still can hardly believe it. Words cannot describe how thankful I am to finally be out of that season of potty training. It took so long and was so discouraging – it was literally the most challenging thing I have ever done in my entire life.
• Leander graduated to a big boy bed a few weeks ago! While we transitioned Braelynn out of her crib when she was just 2 years old, here Leander was, almost 4, and still going strong in his crib! He never tried to crawl out of it and was so content in it that we just left him be! It was time for him to move on though, so we brought down the toddler bed and have had a beautiful, wonderful, seamless transition. He still loves his bed, still loves sleeping, and at most – wakes up in the middle of the night here and there having kicked all of his blankets off and is cold. Otherwise, he still is a rockstar sleeper (and for that, I am beyond thankful!)
• This boy is a traveler! He loves to be on the go (and I am so thankful for that because we travel a lot)! We have been home for a few weeks now though (because it’s winter – amusement parks and the lake house are all closed for the season), and he just keeps asking when we’re going to go to a hotel again. He loves to go-go-go, does tremendous during long car rides, and has no problem trekking across the country with us!
• Leander’s favorite things to eat are chicken nuggets, pancakes, pizza, spaghetti and RANCH DRESSING. He adds ranch dressing to just about every meal (except pancakes) and eats it as it’s own food group. I mean, I like ranch, but not quite that much!
• Whenever we pray, Leander commands everyone to “Close your eyes down!”
• His imagination seems to grow bigger every day! He is constantly dreaming up adventures, running from monsters, and searching for treasures. He will sit and play with toys for long periods of time – setting up imaginary worlds and bringing his toys to life. I had put away all of Braelynn’s PAW Patrol toys, but recently got the all back out for Leander. He loves them! Toss in Spidey and His Amazing Friends and it’s a match made in heaven.
• Braelynn is Leander’s best friend – he follows her around everywhere and copies everything she does. They are constantly building forts out of blankets and our couch cushions, crafting, playing with kinetic sand, going on adventures, and running around outside together. They truly have the sweetest relationship and I love watching it. Sure, they have their moments of fighting and getting on each other’s nerves, but overall, they are wonderful friends and playmates.
• But if you ask Leander who his “best friend” is, he will tell you “Lee-Lee” (Alethea) and “Way-lah” (Layla) – his cousins! He absolutely adores them and asks to play with them all the time. They play so well together and truly love each other so much. He’s even (finally) come around to accepting “Wee-O” (Leo) as a “friend” contender (Leo is the newest cousin – he’s only 7 months old. Leander was not interested in him at all though when he was born, and just recently has been more interested in talking to him and holding him! I bet by next year, he and Leo will be best buddies!) Leander also has a few friends at church that he plays with in the nursery – he’s a pretty social little dude!
• This year, Leander has been very interested in “school” and has really enjoyed doing school right along with Braelynn. He listens to me read to her, will do worksheets and sticker pages while I’m working 1:1 with her, but his favorite thing of all is to do science experiments with us! I have a few different kits of colored bugs with pages of patterns to match them to, different shape blocks he can match together to make larger pictures, and counting manipulatives that he loves. It’s been a lot of fun to do low-key school with him this year!
• And it’s been fun to watch him think about things and process things. He’s been asking questions recently that make us laugh and realize just how much he’s thinking! For example, he’s been obsessed with the book “Harold And The Purple Crayon” recently – and after reading it (for the 100th time) one night, he asked, “Does Harold have a family? Where is Harold’s Mom and Dad?”
• Nothing can stop Leander from being 100% boy! He loves to wrestle, climb, run, jump, and tackle anyone who will let him (his favorite subjects are Daddy, Grandpa & Papa, and Uncle Nathan). He is constantly coming up with new “tricks” (including the wall-climbing “trick” he discovered while we were taking his birthday photos!) and loves to show them all off!
• But, he still loves his blankie. He still sucks his 3rd and 4th fingers on his left hand and holds the corner of his blankie up to his nose. It’s a habit I know we’ll have to start to work on “breaking” eventually, but for now, it’s just so sweet that I can’t bring myself to asking him to stop.
• Leander LOVES taking a bath – as in, he asks for one every single day. He’ll even settle for a shower if he can’t get a bath – he just loves water.
• Thankfully, he has no problem being in front of the camera! In fact, whenever something photo-worthy is happening (or even when it’s not), he says: “Take picture me!” and of course, I always oblige.
• He is the happiest, smiliest, silliest little boy around and we just love him to pieces.

*If you’d like a trip down memory lane, you can go back & see past “birthday” (I put it in quotes, because that encompasses the half-birthday photos I do in the summer too) posts here: 3 1/2 Update, 3 Years old, 2 1/2 Update, 2 Years old, 1 1/2 Update, 1 Year old, Leander’s birth story Part 1 & Part 2.

Happy birthday, Leander Roxas – we love you so so much!